Deadrick Garrett v. State of Tennessee

Syllabus

Deadrick Garrett (\the Petitioner\) appeals the Knox County Criminal Court's denial of post-conviction relief from his conviction for first-degree premeditated murder and resulting life sentence. On appeal, the Petitioner argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel based on trial counsel's failure to: (1) communicate with the Petitioner and adequately explain criminal and trial procedure (2) review discovery with the Petitioner, including witness statements and forensic evidence (3) have the Petitioner evaluated by a mental health expert and pursue a diminished capacity theory of defense (4) anticipate that the trial court would deny a self-defense jury instruction and develop a viable alternative defense and (5) object to the Petitioner's demonstrating on crossexamination that he could open the knife used in the murder with one hand. The Petitioner further asserts that trial counsel improperly: (6) advised a defense witness to be hostile towards the victim (7) instructed the Petitioner to \cry on cue\ and (8) fabricated the Petitioner's trial testimony \so as to create some justification for [the Petitioner's] stabbing [the victim].\ After a thorough review of the appellate record and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.